Coin controlled mechanism



Aug. 18, 1931. Bl L. FRY 1,819,413

-COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM I Filed Nov. 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inh f5 B. L. FRY

Aug. 18, 1931.

GOIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed Nov. 18.l 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 18, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT orf-Tcl:

BENJAMN L. FRY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T NATIONAL SALES MACHINE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI i I COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Application led November 18, 1929. Serial No. 408,080.

v This invention relates to vending machines and has special reference to the coin-controlled operating mechanism, the primary object being to provide a mechanism which i may be readily adjusted to accommodate and operate with a coin of a desired denomination. It is also an object of the invention to simplify the mechanism and thereby reduce the cost of production and upkeep without any loss of efficiency. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and consists-in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings: j

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mechanism with parts of the vending machine in vertical sect-ion.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is au enlarged detail section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

The present invention is designed more particularly for operating vending machines in which the articles offered for sale are disposed in a column of compartments 5, the

compartments being dened by shelves 10 secured rigidly between the side walls 7 of the columnar structure which has a closed back and an open front. An extension 12 is secured to one side wall of the column and '35 depends below the same to provide proper supports for an operating slide hereinafter mentioned. There is also an angle brace 13 disposed below and secured to the bottom shelf 10 and said extension 12 so as to impart rigidity to the lower end of the column of compartments, as will be understood. The

side walls of each column are provided at their front edges with flanges'14 constituting guides and tracks for a vertically movable closure 15 which is common to the entire column of compartments.

The closure 15 is an elongated plate having one edge formed into a. re-entrant ange 19 slidably fitting around the flange 14 at one side of the column and having a bead or strip 20 secured upon its rear side along its opposite edge, an angle bar 21 being secured against said bead, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The bead or strip 20 is of the same thickness as the coacting flange `14 and the angle bar 21 is so disposed that one edge engages behind said flange and thereby holds the closure 15 slidably in position on thecolumn.

Projecting laterally from the angle bar 21 are spacedv studs or pins 22 which are set apart a distance corresponding to the height of the compartments in the column to which the closure is applied. rUpon the side of the extension 12 is secured a guide loop or bracket 23 and alined with said guide bracket 23 another bracket 24 is secured upon a cross bar 25 which is located within the cabinet of the machine. The guide brackets 23 and 24 receive a slide 26 which coperates with the projections 22 to effect uncovering of a compartment and permit withdrawal of the contents of the same. The slide 26 projects forwardly beyond the front guide 24 and at its front eX- tremity is secured one end of a retractile spring 28, the opposite end of said spring being attached to the bracket 24, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. On the side of the slideV 26 there are secured or formed a pair of cooperating lugs or projections'29 and 30, said lugs or projections being of a general triangular formV and having their confronting edges spaced apart to define a downwardly and forwardly inclined passageway. The lug or projection 29 is disposed somewhat forwardly of the lug or projection 30, the latter being also disposed below the former, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the upper forward lug has its upper edge formed with a vertical shoulder at an intermediate point in its length and a shelf or ledge at the rear of the shoulder.

When the machine has been stocked and placed in display and selling position, the closure 15 is at the extreme upper limit of its movement and completely covers the front ends of all the compartments in the corresponding column. In this position the lo-west stud or pin 22 rests on the upper forward edge of the lug 29, the slide being then in its rearmost position illustrated in Figs, 1 and 2. If the slide be drawn forward, the stud 22 drops behind the shoulder' and rests upon the ledge, thereby preventing an immediate return movement of the slide and frustrating any effort which might be made to operate the slide so as to permitY the withdrawal of more than one article for a single fee. nasmuch as the slide cannot be pushed rearwardly, it must be drawn forward to a greater extent and this forward movement is continued until the projection 22 clears the rear end of the ledge and drops onto the upper edge of the lower lug. l/Vhen this stage of the operation has been reached, the for-ward movement of the slide will be arrested and if no further movement were imparted to the slide, the contents of the compartment could not be removed inasmuch as the vertical movementso far imparted to the closure has been just enough to permit it to drop onehalfthe height'of the compartment. The closure can o-nly move in a vertical plane and, consequently, it will be supported in this hall2 open position by the pin or stud resting on the upper inclined edge of the lug 30 until the slide is permitted to retract, which action will occur under the influence of the spring 28 when the pulling force upon the slide has been released. The rearward movement of the slide will, of course, permit the stud or pin 22 to ride downwardly on the upper edge of the lug 30 and fully uncover the compartment and the stud will clear the lug 30 just as the neXt stud or pin 22 above reaches the upper edge of the lug 29 and of the slide. It will thus be seen that at each operation of the slide the closure is given a step by step movement which will permit it to fully uncover the uppermost covered compartment and will limit its movement to the uncovering of said compartment.

To operate the slide 26, there is provided a plunger 34 with the rear end of which the slide is connected and there are also provided means whereby the plunger willbe inoperative until a coin of the proper denomination has been deposited. The plunger is slidably mounted in the front wall of the cabinet and in a guide bracket 35 secured upon the cro-ss bar 25, and the rear end of the plunger is formed with a horizontal notch or slot 36 which receives a coupling arm 37 secured rigidly to the side of thevslide 26 and projecting laterally therefrom to pass through said notch or slot. The arm 37 is provided with a series of openings 38 in any one of which may be engaged a lock pin or key 39 which is also inserted through the rear end of the plunger. While the machine has been designed more particularly for selling small articles.y such as packaged candy, cigarettes or `the like, it is adapted for the sale of any form of merchandise, such as packaged cereals or other commodities, and the only change that is necessary is to make the compartments of the proper dimensions to accommodate and hold the packages which are to be sold. The provision of the openings 38 permits the slide 26 to be set atvarying distances from the plunger 34 and, consequently, a single size for the plunger and for the slide may be maintained but the slide and the plunger may be set apart the proper distance to accommodate packages of any width.y It will be noted that a chain orother flexible connection 40 isattached to and extends between the key 39 and the lower end of the closure l5. This flexible connection provides a simple but effective stop to prevent the slide dropping entirely rom the guides on which it is mounted and prevent loss of the key or pin 39. It may also be used for returning the closure to its uppermost position after restocking a column of compartments. When the supplyof merchandise in any one column has been exhausted, the uppermost projection on the closure will be resting on the slide and the lug 29 thereon. The lug 29 will, of course, be in the path of all the lower studs or projections and, consequently, will normally interfere with the return movement of the closure. The key or pin 39 is, consequently, withdrawn after all the -compartments have been relilled and therslide 26 is then pushed rearwardly a suiiicient distance to carry the lug 29 to thev rear of the line of studs or pins 22 after which the closure may be easily and quickly returned to its uppermost position by pulling uponlthe connection 40,'as will be understood. The temporary removal of the pin or key 29 permits the slide 26 with its arm 37 to move rearwardly without disturbing the plunger 34 and without any liability, therefore, of jamming any of the parts cooperating with the plunger. After the closure has been fully raised, the slide is returned to its normal position and the key reinserted thereupon setting the machine for further operation.

The guide 35 through which the plunger 110 34 works has an extension 41 projecting fon wardlyto the iront wall of the cabinet and secured thereto, the securing flange 42 furnishing an 'additional guide for the plunger and reinforcing the front wall of the cabinet U5 around the opening through which the plunger plays. Between the ends of the eX- tension 4l, a collar orsleeve 43 is secured thereto and this collar or sleeve encircles the plunger and is provided at its rear end with 120 an oii'set tongue 44 wherebya stop slmnldcr 45 is produced to be engaged by the front end of a dog 46 which is mounted in the plunger. Said dog 46 is pivotally mounted at 47 within a longitudinal slot 48 of the plunger and 125 has two arms disposed at an oblique angle to each other, as shown clearly in Fig. 4. The forwardly extending arm projects from one side of the plunger and is adapted to impinge against the shoulder 45so that it will resist 130.

forward movement of the plunger if it be attempted to operate the same without previously depositing the required coin. The opposite end of the dog projects beyond the opposite side of the plunger toward the guide extension 41 and is adapted to impinge against the edge of an inserted coin, indicated at 48, being yieldably held in that position by a spring 49 attached to the dog and to the plunger, as shown in Fig. 6. It will now be understood that if no coin is in the machine, forward movement of the plunger will bring the front end of the dog against the stop shoulder 45 and thereby arrest the movement, whereas if a coin be inserted the rear end of the dog will ride against the edge of the coin and the dog will thereby be rocked, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, so that its forward end will clear the stop .shoulder 45 and permit the full forward movement of the plunger and, therefore, of the slide 26 to operate the closure 15. To support the inserted coin in the path of the dog, I provide a rest 50 which is secured to the side of the guide extension 41, as best shown in Fig. 1, the rear edge of said. rest being curved so as to furnish a seat for the coin in which it will be held by the pressure exerted thereon by the dog. As the dog moves forwardly and is rocked about its pivot, it will, of course, clear the coin which, being thereby released, will roll from the rest into the coin box. In order to adjust the machine for operation by a coin of a determined denomination, the rest 50 is adjustable longitudinally of the extension 41 so that it will be normally at a greater or less distance from the end of the dog 46 and this adjustable mounting may be easily attained by fitting the bolts or screws, as 51, which secure the rest in place, through longitudinal slots in the guide extension, as is obvious. The collar or sleeve 48, which provides the stop shoulder 45, isin like manner adjustable to accommodate dierent movements, as indicated at 52. rlfhe plunger is also provided with a stop 53 on its side which is adapted t0 impinge against the front end of theA guide sleeve or collai'v 43, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. to thereby limit the rearward movement of the plunger and cause the parts to come to rest before the supported stud 22 has a Chance to drop over the front end of the lug 29. Forward movement is limited by the coupling arm 37 impinging against the brackets 24 and 35.

rl`he extension 41 has a coin chute 61 secured thereto which rises to a co-in slot in the cabinet to receive the coin inserted through the slot, the coin being directed onto the rest 50. The coin tube is equipped with means whereby slugs and other spurious devices are rejected andL turned aside, the particular structure of said means being immaterial in the present invention. A knob 6() on the plunger facilitates its manipulation.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a coin-controlled mechanism, the combination of a coint rest, a plunger operating beside the rest, a dog carried by the plunger and normally projecting from the opposite sides thereof, and a stop at one side of the plunger and adjustable along the same in the path of one end of the dog to normally prevent movement of the plunger, the opposite end of the dog being arranged to engage a coin upon the rest and ride on the coin whereby the stop( will be cleared to permit movement of the plunger and the coin will be discharged.

2.. In a coin-controlled mechanism, the combination of a bracket, a coin rest on the side of the bracket, a plunger beside the bracket, means to direct a coin onto the coin rest, a dog carried by the plunger and having one end projecting therefrom to engage a coin on the coin rest, and a collar secured on the bracket in advance of the coin rest and encircling the plunger and having a stop shoulder in the path of the opposite end of the dog, said collar being adjustable alongthe plunger.

3. In a coin-controlled mechanism, Jthe combination of a bracket, a coin rest on the side of the bracket, a plunger beside the bracket, means to direct a coin onto the coin rest, a dog carried by the plunger and having one end projecting therefrom to engage a coin on the coin rest, acollar secured to the bracket in advance of the coin rest and having an offset portion defining a stop shoulder in the path ofthe opposite end of the dog, and a stop extending from the plunger and adapted to impinge against the collar to limit the rearward movement of the plunger. y

4. In a coin-controlled mechanism, the combination of a bracket, a coin rest on the side of the bracket, a. plunger beside the bracket, means to direct a coin into` the coin chut-e, a dog pivotally mounted on the plunger'and having a relatively short head portion to engage a coin on the coin rest and a relatively long tail portion, av colla-r secured to the bracket in advance of the coin rest and encircling the plunger, said collar being provided with an offset portion defining a stop shoulder disposed in the path of the tail end of the dog, a spring operatively connected with the head of the dog, and a stop secured to the plunger and adapted to bear against the adjacent end of the collar.

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature.

BENJAMIN L. FRY. 

